Comelec says unofficial poll numbers not from them; denies anomalous results
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it is not responsible for the partial and unofficial vote counts circulating in the media, explaining that multiple servers are processing the poll results from the 2025 midterm elections.
In their first post-election briefing, Comelec Chair George Garcia clarified that multiple servers were receiving data from precincts, which contributed to the partial and unofficial vote counts circulating in the media.
These servers include those from the media, external election watchdogs like National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) and the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), municipal boards of canvassers, as well as those from both majority and minority groups.
“Yung mga lumalabas po na figures na may sumatotal, may ranking ng kandidato, hindi po sa amin galing yun, sa ibang entities galing yun,” Garcia said.
(The figures with the sum total, with rankings from the candidates, it is not from us.)
Comelec has only published the number of election returns they have received on its website. Garcia said the poll body cannot release results yet unless it is official.
He stressed that Comelec receives data in real-time, and it's already converted into a human-readable format.
While Comelec receives data in real-time, external groups get it in batches. Garcia explained that this data is machine-readable but needs to be cleaned and processed using the proper programs.
To put it simply, imagine six precincts (A to F) in an area. Comelec receives data from these precincts in a set order, with each batch coming in over specific time intervals. For example, in the first 15 minutes, data from precincts A to C is received. In the next 15 minutes, data from precincts D to F comes in, and so on.
The media servers from watchdogs and the media operate differently. Within 15 minutes, they receive data from precincts A to C, and in the next 15 minutes, they receive data from precincts A to F.
This causes a duplication of data, which these entities must clean and process using a program.
Garcia also claimed that a certain entity had revised previously published data.
While he did not specify the entity, Garcia mentioned that a certain firm only cleaned their servers earlier this morning after Comelec called them out.
He also explained that external watchdogs, NAMFREL and PPCRV, experienced delays in releasing their unofficial tallies due to the process of cleaning the data.
“Wala po dagdag bawas na nangyayari,” Garcia reiterated.
(There is no addition and subtraction happening.)
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